Singer Jimmy Buffet wants a Pittsburgh bar named Margaritaville to quit using the name.Buffett’s lawyers sent the bar’s owner a letter recently demanding that it cease operating, saying the singer owns dozens of restaurants called Margaritaville.

Buffett released the song “Wasting Away Again In Margaritaville” in 1977.

Bar owner Rich Rizzo has hired a lawyer and hopes to work things out, but he acknowledges Buffett’s copyright could force a name change.

Rizzo says he feels Buffett is bullying him. He says he bought the bar last year, but it’s been in existence since 1985.

Information from: WPXI-TV, http://www.wpxi.com

A woman was in critical condition at UPMC Presbyterian this afternoon after she was struck by a Port Authority bus while crossing Fifth Avenue at Thackeray Street in Oakland.

Police identified the woman as 51-year-old Sabina Deitrick. Port Authority spokesman David Whipkey said she walked into the bus lane in front of the 54C about 11:30 a.m. when she was “clipped.”

The driver has been suspended to spite eye accounts saying the friver swerved, hit his horn and breaks trying to miss her as se wondered in t his path. Police are investigating. 

Kenshin Kawakami, a longtime veteran of Japan’s Chunichi Dragons, allowed only a bloop single to Adam LaRoche in his first two major-league innings, jump-starting Atlanta and earning the exhibition victory in a 5-2 defeat of the previously unbeaten Pirates before 2,994 at McKechnie Field.

Well, they were 2-0 for almost 24 hours, anyway.

The Penguins began their five-game road trip with a 5-4 overtime win over the Chicago Blackhawks tonight at a packed United Center.

NHL leading scorer Evgeni Malkin netted the winner on a one-timer from the left circle at 1:36 of overtime after the Penguins had blown two, two-goal leads..

They are 4-1-1 under interim coach Dan Bylsma and, at 68 points, remain in 10th place in the Eastern Conference but moved within a point of Carolina and Buffalo, which are tied for eighth.

America’s first continuously-published newspaper, the Boston News-Letter published its first issue on April 24, 1704. John Campbell, a bookseller and postmaster of Boston, was its first editor, printing the newspaper on what was then referred to as a half-sheet. It originally appeared on a single page, printed on both sides and issued weekly.

In the early years of its publication the News-Letter was filled mostly with news from London journals detailing the intrigues of English politics, and a variety of events concerning the European wars. The rest of the newspaper was filled with items listing ship arrivals, deaths, sermons, political appointments, fires, accidents and the like.

One of the most sensational stories published when the News-Letter was the only newspaper in the colonies was the the account of how Blackbeard the pirate was killed in hand-to-hand combat on the deck of a sloop that had engaged his ship in battle.

Campbell relinquished his stewardship of the paper in 1722 to Bartholomew Green, its printer. As editor, Green devoted less space to overseas events and more to domestic news. When Green died after a decade as its editor, the News-Letter was inherited by his son John Draper, also a printer. Draper proved to be a better editor and publisher than his predecessors. He enlarged the paper to four good-sized pages, filling it with news from Boston, other towns throughout the colonies, and from abroad.

On view here is the May 14, 1761 issue of the News-Letter. The front page is displayed in its entirety. Notice the credit line Printed by J. Draper appearing under the masthead. As was the custom then, the front page was devoted to events overseas. This issue contains news from London, a speech by the King to the House of Commons, and various accounts from Westminster and Whitehall.

Also displayed from this issue is an ad from the back page for a Scheme of a Lottery. The lottery was created to sell 6000 tickets at $2 each to raise funds to pave the highway in Charlestown from the Ferry to the Neck. Of the $12,000 to be raised, according to the ad, $10,800 is earmarked for prizes and $1200 for paving the highway.

As time progressed, and those who disliked England fell into favor, the half sheet became a call to arms for America, and later, the basis for Freedom of the Press as granted in the Bill Of Rights originated in our own home state of Pennsylvania,  by great men or little means, and big dreams, and today this principle stands for the ability of Blogs like mine, and papers like the Argus, and Herald to publish freely.

But today, we are-under siege again, as the article below describes, the death of the Rocky Mountain news.

All to often do papers go under, 23 in the last month by my count, and while the Internet is a great and powerful tool, the Government, a body of corrupt people by my thought, could someday , like they-do in China  and other countries, simply flick a switch and tun of the Internet, the cell phones, and other communication devices and have their way with us.

As such, we must work to keep local newspapers, to keep the printing presses of old running and alive, so that news of those who hope to oppress us, to control us, to lead us down the wrong path, be exposed so that we, The United States Citizen, Americans, be allowed to decide for yourself, and to maintain control of this country through the right to bear arms, the right to free speech and the ability to communicate in ways not electronic that can be shut off like a desk lamp in the night at will by those who may someday oppress us in bright light, or the dead of night.

We must keep the Press free, we must keep newspapers, and I implore you to buy a subscription to the local paper in your home town, to spite the free news online, because once the newspapers that chronicle our lives fade from site, memories will be at the mercy of those with access to data bases, to delete, to revise,to our right lie on, with no real hard copy record for those to come in the future, our children, their children, our future generations.

If you think this can not be done, look to inauguration Day, 2009, when a threat was perceived for Barack Obama, the Secret Service quietly turned off all phone service that could be used to set off a bomb, and millions in the city chalked it up to a system overload, look to the London bombings, when-England shut off phone service to the city in ten seconds to keep more bombs from being triggered electronically by phone until they could be located and detonated.

Your freedom, your ability to communicate Can be gone in a second, the Internet stopped, your access deleted, your life put Ianthe hands of a less than honest government, it could happen to you.

Do not, do not, DO NOT!!!!!!!!, let the press and news die.

Do Something,  but a copy of your-local paper today, and everyday. It’s your best insurance that you will be someday saved by the truth,by the press and its freedom.

Don’t rely on me, or Blogger like us, we could be turned off in a click should someone want us closed down in power, and their is nothing we could do.

Just ask the Chinese bloggers who are in jail. 

The Eulogy Simply Said:

It is with great sadness that we say goodbye to you today. Our time chronicling the life of Denver and Colorado, the nation and the world, is over. Thousands of men and women have worked at this newspaper since William Byers produced its first edition on the banks of Cherry Creek on April 23, 1859. We speak, we believe, for all of them, when we say that it has been an honor to serve you. To have reached this day, the final edition of the Rocky Mountain News, just 55 days shy of its 150th birthday is painful. We will scatter. And all that will be left are the stories we have told, captured on microfilm or in digital archives, devices unimaginable in those first days. But what was present in the paper then and has remained to this day is a belief in this community and the people who make it what it has become and what it will be. We part in sorrow because we know so much lies ahead that will be worth telling, and we will not be there to do so. We have celebrated life in Colorado, praising its ways, but we have warned, too, against steps we thought were mistaken. We have always been a part of this special place, striving to reflect it accurately and with compassion. We hope Coloradans will remember this newspaper fondly from generation to generation, a reminder of Denver’s history – the ambitions, foibles and virtues of its settlers and those who followed. We are confident that you will build on their dreams and find new ways to tell your story. Farewell – and thank you for so many memorable years together.

Japan has released a slew of economic data that paints a picture of a nation struggling amid the global economic slowdown.

The world’s second-largest economy reported a drop of 10 percent in industrial output for January, compared with a year ago. The fall in industrial output is a record drop for the country, the government said. Industrial output reflects how much Japanese companies produce, which exporters have cut sharply as world demand has slumped.

Exports plunged an unprecedented 45.7 percent last month, as major exporters such as Toyota and Nissan announced further production cutbacks.

Falling global demand for Japan’s cars and electronics has led to increased unemployment. The government did report unemployment improved slightly for January, falling to 4.1 percent, versus December’s 4.3 percent. But Credit Suisse economist Satoru Ogasawara called that report “a mystery.”

“I don’t understand it,” Ogasawara said. “How I see this is that jobless people are simply giving up looking for new work. I’m sure this figure doesn’t mean employment is improving.”

Economist Richard Jerram at Macquarie Capital Securities also said the unemployment figure is “not reliable.” He points to the ratio of jobs available to each applicant, which the government says stands at 0.67 for each job seeker. That is the 12th straight monthly decline. That indicates companies are reluctant to hire, offering fewer and fewer jobs to a growing pool of unemployed, Jerram said.

Japan also reported household spending fell 5.9 percent in January, compared with a year ago, the steepest fall since the country slid into recession last year. The household spending figure indicates consumers are reluctant to buy, which means companies will see fewer sales and then have to slash prices and production further.

The only bright news came in the key consumer inflation rate, which was unchanged in January compared with a year ago.

An Ethiopian immigrant with a history of mental health problems is in custody after being accused of sending a letter with HIV-tainted blood to then-President-elect Barack Obama, according to court records.

Saad Bedrie Hussein told investigators he is an admirer of Obama and that the letter — containing his photo, an admission ticket to Obama’s election-night victory party in Chicago’s Grant Park, and six index cards containing writing and reddish stains — was his way of seeking government help and tickets to Obama’s inauguration.

Hussein, who has HIV, said he “purposely cut one of his fingers with a razor so he could bleed on the letter,” according to an affidavit by Terry L. Cullivan, an investigator with the U.S. Postal Inspection Service.

The letter — postmarked December 27 and written in Ethiopian — was addressed to Obama at the Illinois Department on Aging in Springfield, Illinois.

A monk carrying a Tibetan national flag and shouting slogans set himself on fire in south-central China on Friday and then was shot at by police, a human rights group reported.

Police fired three shots at the monk, but it was not known if any hit him or whether he survived, said Matt Whitticase, spokesman for the London-based Free Tibet organization. Whitticase said he based his report on eyewitness accounts.

The monk set himself on fire about 40 minutes after some 1,000 monks were turned away from a prayer hall where they gathered in defiance of an order barred them from observing Monlam Festival, part of the Tibetan new year.

The monk doused himself with fuel and set himself on fire, Whitticase said. He was immediately surrounded by police, who were not able to get near him because of the flames. Eyewitnesses said the police leveled guns at the monk and fired three shots, and the monk collapsed to the ground, the Free Tibet spokesman said.

After police extinguished the flames, the monk was placed in a van and driven away to an undisclosed location, the witnesses said.

Entertainer Ed McMahon has been hospitalized for more than three weeks with pneumonia and other medical problems, his spokesman said Friday.

Doctors say McMahon, 85, is in serious condition, said the spokesman, Howard Bragman.

“Ed’s a big, strong, hearty guy and his family and I are hopeful and optimistic about his prognosis,” he said. He declined to say where McMahon is hospitalized or to comment further.

McMahon gained fame as Johnny Carson’s sidekick on “The Tonight Show.”